


A few years earlier

by Kiritagawa



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Exploring the Metaverse, I'm not kidding it's not healthy, M/M, Pre-Canon, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23908111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiritagawa/pseuds/Kiritagawa
Summary: As Goro would wish it, he gets his chance to meet Akira before his downward spiral into madness and revenge. It's just what would have wanted, it's what would have prevented everything, right?Warnings: Toxic relationships will be depicted and can potentially trigger some. Read with caution. SAID TOXIC RELATIONSHIP DEPICTED IS IN NO WAY SUPPORTED IRL, AND IS NOT ROMANTICISED WHATSOEVER IN THE FIC.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist, Amamiya Ren/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Kudos: 61





	1. Meeting before Fate

School excursions were never fun for Goro. Due to his reputation as the unwanted child born out of wedlock, older kids bullied him and his classmates stayed away as if his circumstance was contageous. Always at the back of the line, never allowed to sit at the front due to peer pressure, and sometimes even forgotten by presenters and teachers.

The Aquarium in Tokyo was meant to be relaxing and inspiring. All Goro got out of it was that kids don't like touching the side rails if he did prior.  
"...they treat me like I'm always sick. Would they treat me better if I had a normal family but was slowly dying...?"

Then, in the distance, he sees a pack of students in foreign uniforms. They don't look like any uniform he's seen in the city, so they must have travelled to Tokyo just to see the aquarium.  
"...no one in my class will notice if I just...walk off...yeah?"

He walks away from the group rather casually, no one trying to stop him.

No one from the other school seems to notice him slip into the crowd either...well, except for the one student he bumped into.  
"Hrk!"

There's the sound of something dropping to the ground.  
"My glasses! Dammit!"  
He gets quite low to the floor, low enough to kiss it if he so desired.  
"There they are!"  
With a sigh, he slides them back on to his face, stands back up, and turns to face Goro.  
"Could you not do that?! You should-huh? You're not from my class..."

"No, I'm not...I..." Goro pauses. He thinks as fast as he can to come up with an excuse. He fake-putters before replying, trying to sound embarassed and shy. "I...got lost from my class."  
The fluffy-haired boy pinches his chin with his thumb, clearly somewhat skeptical. "And why did you come over to my class?"  
"Um...we pass through the same places eventaully, yes? That, and it'll be easier to look for me if I stay with a group rather than get lost on my own."

While the boy doesn't seem entirely satisfied, the answer is accepted with a nod. "Alright, but you better tell me your name."  
"It's Goro Tokomo, right now."  
"And...what year are you in?"  
"I'm in Middle school, second year."  
"Ahhh...I'm a first year....call me Kurusu, Tokomo uh...kun?" The boy pauses to whisper to himself. _"You only call upperclassmen from your school Senpais...right?"_  
"...okay, Kurusu-kun." Goro sighs softly.

"...! Ah!" Before Kurusu can get distracted, he notices that his class is moving on ahead. He goes to grab Goro by his arm and pull him along to keep up.

_'He's...not afraid to touch me.....oh, of course he's not, he doesn't know that I'm an undesirable child. He has nothing to lose...'_

As Goro tries to hide himself behind Kurusu, they seem to come to an open area with chairs...  
"Alright class, time for lunch break! Take a seat and eat!"

"You should sit with me, Tokomo-kun." Kurusu inists. "I'll get my lunch then sit down somewhere! I'll tell my friends the situation so they won't sit with me this time. I don't want you to be uncomfortable or anything."

As Kurusu walks off, this gives some time to Goro to think to himself.  
'He's so nice...do I even deserve treatment like this?'

Kurusu comes back within a minute. "Right, all done! We can sit over there, the corner with all the cushions!" He says. "Come on!" The boy then skips over to the corner.  
Slightly confused by how cheery the other boy is, Goro complies and walks over to him, sitting next to him but making sure they're not touching at all.  
"You're not very cautious, Kurusu-kun. I could be lying about almost everything you know."  
Kurusu takes a bite from his roll of sorts and swallows the mouthful before replying. "Are you used to having people lie to you?"

The response takes Goro aback, almost rendering him speechless. He almost chokes on his spit but recomposes himself to think. Why did the boy ask such a question in response?  
"Why do you say that, Kurusu-kun?"  
"If you've been betrayed before, you're less likely to trust others. You've been a victim of that, huh?"  
"H-how did...?!"

Kurusu places his half-eaten roll back in his lunchbox before going to look Goro in the eyes. "I don't know what you've been through, but it's clearly not good. I don't expect you to tell me any of it, but...it's not too late to recover from it. You can trust me, Tokomo-kun. I've got no reason to hate you."  
"Y-you do. Everyone does." Goro insists. "If I told you, you'd turn away, just like everyone else..!"  
"Have you killed someone?"  
"No..."  
"Then, why would I turn on you?"

Goro pauses, taking a deep breath. He walked himself into the pit. This kid he just met is going to get up and walk away because he just had to open his mouth...  
"I'm an unwanted child. My mother had me...unmarried. Everyone hated her, and now they hate me since she's no longer around."

The boy blinks. It seems to be some extreme information for him as he remains silent for some time...

But he doesn't walk away.

"Why should I hate you for that? It's not your fault. People shouldn't hate others for things not their fault." Kurusu says. "I'm an accident, but no one holds that against me."  
Goro almost topples back in shock. That's not the response he was expecting at all. There was no disgust in his voice, he didn't sound pissed off or freaked out. The response doesn't compute with Goro, he's too accustomed to angry voices, screaming, or even crying with fear. He holds his head, his plams pushing into his skull. He shakes his head.  
"Y...you're lying. You must be..." Goro mutters.  
"Why do you think I am?" Kurusu swiftly replies.

Almost ready to cry, Goro pulls his hands away from his head, taking a deep but shaky breath. "I...I don't think you are. The tone of your voice isn't disgusted with me. But...what else am I meant to expect? None of my foster parents like me, no one at school likes me, whoever my father was hated me before I was born...it's almost like I stopped beliving I could be geniunely liked a long time ago."

Kurusu gently places his lunch down, shuffling slightly to adjust himself. He goes to look down at their feet.  
"...you sound like you're in highschool, with how you talk about what you've been through. Everything you're telling me shouldn't be kept to yourself. I...I wish I could help you, but I don't know how I-"  
"You could be my friend. That might help."

Kurusu stares at Goro for half a minute, as if thinking over the idea. Goro did reveal his 'secret' to him, and vented about how he's never really had any positive relationships for over a decade. There must be a reason, as if it was fate bringing them together to ease the pain.  
"...are you even sure we'll meet again?" Kurusu asks.

Now it was Goro's turn to think it over. Was this Kurusu kid going to just be another face in the crowd in the end? But...then...why did Goro feel drawn to him? There must be a reason he bumped into Kurusu specifically...  
"I...I'm sure of it! I mean...fate is a strange thing to believe in, but I can't help but feel the urge to tell you what I've been through. You're actually listening to me, you're not running away. And...maybe there's a reason I bumped into you of all people."

Kurusu pushes his glasses up. "I feel like I can learn a lot from you, Tokomo-kun. And if you're certain we'll meet again after this field-trip, then, the least I can offer is friendship." He looks Goro so their sights connect, and he holds his hand out.  
Slightly hesitant, Goro pulls his own hand out. He shivers slightly before locking into a handshake with Kurusu.

The soft warmth enimating from Kurusu's hand is something Goro is unfamiliar with. A warmth that he must have felt at one point but has gone without it for so long that it feels alien.  
"Hehe...your hands are kinda cold." Kurusu grins. "You should rub them together more often!"  
"Y-yeah..." Goro nods, going to pull away first. "...oh, you should finish eating. I'm sorry, I distracted you from-"

Kurusu places his finger over Goro's lips. "...don't talk down about yourself. You deserve better than for your worst enemy to be yourself."

Slightly stunned, Goro freezes in place, almost going to hold his breath. "My worst..." He looks down at Kurusu's hand. "...you're right. I can't fail. I need to succeed to prove myself wrong. To prove everyone wrong..."  
"Y-yeah, that!" Kurusu nods. His hands hover back to his lunchbox. "Ah, do you want a rice ball? Seems like my mother made a few too many." He says, going back to his roll despite his comment.  
"Well...if I can have one...sure." Goro nods.

* * *

Once lunch break is over, the class is on the move again, with Goro hitching a ride within the crowd at Kurusu's side.  
The class walks into a room with Large tanks all over, minty neon glows lighting up the tanks. Kurusu walks up to the tank with seahorses, hands against the glass. Goro follows, but doesn't press himself against the glass at all.

"...Seahorses, they've always baffled me. People say the male seahorse gets pregnant, but...fish don't get pregnant. All they're doing is carrying the eggs until they hatch. If clownfish had a similar method of looking after their eggs, would they have the same reputation?" Goro questions, watching a male swim after a female that he's trying to appeal to. "But...clownfish can apparently change their sex at will. Fish are very strange creatures."  
"I'm so glad I'm not a fish. Sounds stressful." Kurusu mutters. After staring for a few more seconds, he pulls his hands away from the glass. "Ugh...boring now." He shrugs. "Probably shouldn't have put my hands on the glass, but it's gonna get cleaned and touched by younger kids anyway."

Goro then turns to look at the other tanks around the place. There's one with lobsters, another with sea dragons, and of course one with the aforementioned clown fish. "There's so many kinds of aquatic creatures to observe. Do you have a favourite, Kurusu-kun?" He asks.  
"Uh...I have no idea. There's a lot to choose from, but nothing really sticks out to me....maybe Sharks? Crabs and Lobsters? Perhaps Killer Whales? I guess you could say I like dangerous creatrues." Kurusu tries to answer.  
"Interesting...I've yet to pick a favourite myself. Perhaps if I pick a favourite, I will try to aim to be like it. Maybe I should aim to be an octopus...smart and strategic, but I hear they have surprisingly high standards for certain things, like attention and affection."

Another class then comes into the room. Goro looks over but quickly looks away. Kurusu notices, turning to look at Goro. "...that's your class, isn't it?"  
"...it is." Goro nods. "But...I don't want to part. At least not yet." He insists.

Kurusu stares blankly before replying. "You're going to have to. But...well, do you have anything on you? Like a pin or something?"  
Goro turns back to look at Kurusu. "...a pin? Well...

He rummages his pockets, looking for any sort of object to give Kurusu, his only friend. His fingers brush against a hard object. Grabbing it with two fingers and pulling it out reveals it to be a spare button for his uniform. He sighs, what a boring object.  
"This is all I have."  
"It will do just fine!"

Kurusu grabs the button, stuffing it into his own pocket. "Don't forget what I told you! Don't let your worst enemy be yourself!"  
"...do I really have to go back now?" Goro responds, almost whining.  
Kurusu walks behind Goro and attempts to push him. "If you don't go now, it will only get harder to leave!" He insists.

Goro lets Kurusu's push propell him forward towards his class. It's as if he never left, there's no reaction from his peers. Almost regretful about returning, he turns back to look at Kurusu. The glasses-wearing boy waves at him before getting pushed and pulled away by his friends.

"...we'll meet again. I'm sure of it. Some way. Forums, maybe some form of social media if he has a phone. It can't end-WON'T end as a one-off...I'll see him again."


	2. My Enemy

Days, Weeks, Months...  
Years...

He never did see Kurusu again.

F _or weeks on end he tried looking for a Kurusu. He didn't find anything- anyone that matched the boy in the glasses._

_He was about to give up, give into despair. That's when that app appeared. He tapped on it, and he heard a voice. A voice that offered him tremendous power..._  
_He went to accept the offer, and got transported to a world that looked distorted and hellish. Dark colours, with vein-like decorations everywhere._

_"This is...no, this can't be the underground subway."_  
_"This is the cognitive plain of existence. Where thoughts manifest themselves. What we call shadows lurk about here. You could subdue them, or kill them..."_  
_"K-kill?! What would that do?"_  
_"Well, if it's the shadow of someone from the real world...they'll go down with that shadow."_

_He tensed up._  
_Killing people...but what if they're not innocent? He wouldn't be laying any fingers on them anyway. But...why would he kill in the first place?_

_"How do I even find a shadow, anyway? It's not like I can just look them up on a map!" Goro snapped back, clearly having wanted to find an excuse to get out of whatever was going on._

_Goro's phone buzzed, a name popped up, with a location on the map of the strange place._  
_"Kaoru Kazama...who is this?" Goro almost wretched as he looked at the name._  
_"What if I told you...they held information you want to know? Your father..."_

_Goro's gaze sharpened, his grip on his phone tightened. The only people that would have known are the father himself, or anyone that knew his mother. This Kaoru guy would be one of the two._  
_"Where...how do I get to him?"_

_The voice laughed, it was a deep chuckle but clearly gleeful. "I cannot do much in my current state, but perhaps I can guide you down..."_  
_One of the thin veins along the walls pulsed with a ting of light. This drew Goro away from his phone so he could look at the vein. It pulsed a few more times before he shoved his phone into his pocket and went to follow it, starting to run. As he ran, he almost jumped out of his skin upon seeing a black glob monstrosity._  
_"GYAAA-!"_  
_"Keep to the walls, you'll be able to deal with them later...for now, avoid these shadows."_  
_Goro choked on his next sentence and turned his head away, following the light within the vein._

_The vein thinned out into the wall, but that was only as he came across a waiting area. He climbs up to the elevated floor, with an escalator that moves down._  
_"Down there is your target..."_  
_Goro's body hesitated with a twitch, but he walked over and down the escalator._  
  
_A dark ride barely lit up again. He was on another platform, but it was different to the one above. Pillars on both sides and a wall behind a mysterious man._  
_"Kazama..."_

_He walked towards the man that emmited a black aura. Dark brown hair, trimmed short but combed back. Glowing yellow eyes, no taller than about 170._  
_The man laughed as Goro stopped a meter before him. "My my...is it really you, Goro Nishikawa?"_  
_Goro tensed up. "That's-! My mother's..!" He almost coughed._  
_"Oh, of course you don't remember me. Last I saw you, your mother was still alive...ahhh, what a pathetic woman. Sold her body to anyone that offered enough, and was shocked when Shido turned her away." He laughed._

_"...Shido?"_

_"...Masayoshi Shido. Does his name ring a bell? Or are you not into politics yet?"_

_"Masayoshi Shido...is that man my father, as you imply?"_

_Kazama chuckled, nodding with a shit-eating grin as he watched Goro slowly look down. "Yep. She bragged to me about landing a politician, saying it would be enough to have her get her own place. Then she fell in love with him. Of course, it was one-sided. Shido saw her for what she really was, a prostitue only good for a bit of fun."_  
_"S-shido...he's the reason why I..."_  
_"Oh, you think Shido drove her to end her life?"_

_Goro snapped his head back up and clenched his fist. "...what do you mean by that?"_  
_Kazama snickered before replying. "Who do you think drove her over the edge after Shido crippled her outlook?"_

_Before Goro could have moved to charge forward, the mysterious voice speaks again._  
_"Do you wish to be granted power that will allow you to do as you wish? Ah, no need to answer, I can feel your desire to rip him apart. Take the last my power can give you, and do as you please..."_

_A helmet-like mask flashed onto Goro's head. The holes for the eyes covered by red lenses, and 'horns' extend back behind his head, slightly curling. Two pieces to the mask made it look as there was a mouth that showed its fangs. Goro started to twitch. It began with his fingers, to his entire arm, and then entire upper body and legs. He stomped down and started heavily breathing. He looked down before pulling his posture back up to stare at Kazama. "Aha...I see who's calling my name...come, Loki!"_

_Goro slamed the two parts of his mask together, shutting it like a helmet. A light engulfed him, and he felt new fabric wrap around him, a new look that exposed who he was on the inside. In his left hand, a fanged blade the colour of blood manifested into his grip. When the light faded, the top half of his mask was no longer there, and a black and white stripped being with braided locks sat behind him on a large blade, hovering above the ground. Goro giggled as he pointed the sword at Kazama. "I'll start with you...you'll pay for putting me into the position I've struggled in for over a decade! If it weren't for you, my mother would still be alive! How would you like to see her again?!" Goro snapped, growling every few words. He followed it up with an eerie laugh. "Tell me, Loki...how do you wish to be commanded?"_

_Loki spun on the handle of his blade, cackling. "I'm not capable of much yet. But you are just merely blooming! Take this rage you feel, and turn it into power that will annihalate all in your path!" He shreiked with insanity._  
_Goro smirked. "I get it. Take thissss!" He hissed. A pool of dark red energy formed beneath Kazama and strings of energy went to leech up and smack him. Kazama howled in pain, Goro cackled in amusement at the sight. To add to the volume of the cries, Goro then rushed forward, slicing with his blade before driving it through Kazama's stomach. Of course, as it wasn't the real Kazama, this only inflicted more pain instead of killing him on the spot._

_As Kazama let out a bloodcurtling scream of agony, Goro's laugher grew in volume and became more and more unhinged as he watched Kazama squirm._  
_"Loki...I know you have one more trick up your sleeve...show it to me-!" Goro demands in a croaky tone._  
_"Then...let me call forth the chaos to drive him insane!"_

_Loki pulled his blade up, and spun it. An extremely focused murky beam of energy shot through Kazama. Almost immedietly he stopped squirming, and hunched over. His arms went limp. His pupils and iris shrank and his jaw hung out. After a brief period of silence, he started to laugh almost psychotically. Now completley ignoring Goro, Kazama began to thrash about, and went over to one of the pillars to slam his head against it._

_Loki was recalled, and Goro's mask returned to cover his face. Goro went to leave, but his legs started to shake and almost buckle under his weight. "Wh...this fatique...I must have mentally exhuasted myself..." He gritted his teeth, supporting himself by gripping onto his thighs. "But now I know who my enemy is...Masayoshi Shido. I'll find him, and show him what it's like..."_

_Pushing himself to stand, Goro walked slowly towards the escalator, legs shaking along the way._

* * *

_"A tragedy occured at 7pm last night. Kaoru Kazama, a man in his late 40s, set his entire apartment complex ablaze, and was found dead, likely due to trauma to the head. None of his neighbours know why he would do such a thing, or what caused him to have what they're calling a 'Psychotic breakdown'."_

_Goro couldn't peel his eyes or ears away from the television. Whatever he did to that other-world version of Kazama caused the real one to go completley insane before dying of...something._

_"...the power to make people lose all sense...then die..." He muttered to himself. "...what can I do with it?"_  
_"GORO! IF YOU DON'T LEAVE NOW YOU'LL MISS YOUR BUS!"_  
_"O-OKAY!"_

_Goro forced his eyes away from the screen to pack up what was on the table, going to stuff it into his school bag before departing._  
_"...and would Shido want to use it?"_

* * *

He never did see Kurusu again. That fact only fuled Goro's desire to seek revenge and end the man that was the one behind his domino effect. Kurusu lied to him about seeing each other again, about being his friend, right? So there was no point to dwell on thoughts about him. How stupid he was to think that Kurusu could have lead him away from the path he was on now. At the very least, Kurusu gave him advice he hasn't forgotten despite all these years: to never make one's greatest enemy themselves...  
With Shido having almost been in hot water for suing someone that assulted him months prior, Goro was now tasked with causing a grave accident, one that would strike fear into the public, only so Shido could swoop in and calm them all.

He stands in Mementos for the first time this April, glaring at a train driver's shadow.  
"Sorry, Shido's orders..." Goro giggles in a sickeningly sweet yet eerie tone. He holds his hand to his mask, and it flashes into blue flames.

"Loki...you know what to do..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this chapter is set as a bit of a flashback of sorts. The switch between past and present tense is intentional.


	3. Phantom Thieves?

"...Shido hasn't given me any requests recently. This is awfully strange. In fact, he's held off since early May. And even if it was for my birthday, I don't think he cares to give me a break on it..." Goro mutters to himself, staring at the app on his phone.

"We currently interrupt normal broadcasting with an Urgent Conference from Artist Madarame Ichiryusai."

"Huh?"  
Goro slides his phone into his pocket to look above at the large screen plastered on the wall of the building.

People around him start to mutter.  
"Is this something about the exhibtion?"  
"Why Is he crying?"  
"Did something happen?"

"I...I have commited crimes that are unbecoming of an Artist." Madarame sobs. "Simply put...I...plagarised work."

The chatter grows louder.  
"Plagarism?!"  
"How long has he been doing it?"  
"Sure...no...it can't have been everything, right?"  
"I knew being able to paint in hundreds of different styles was suspicious."

Goro looks around the crowd. People are starting to voice their true feelings about the man now that they can no longer be seen as awful or a villain for doing so. He grunts to himself. "...if people knew what was really going on behind-"  
  
He stops speaking to himself as someone else takes over the broadcast.  
"On top of charges of abuse to his pupils, Madarame is under suspicion of claiming their works as his own. Some doubt the validity that his maiden work 'Sayuri' was stolen, beliving it was used for fraud."

Goro grunts to himself again. "That fraud...I heard Shido discuss something about some of his money coming from artwork fraud from a client. Is that why he sent me to-"

Chatter of others interrupt his whispered thoughts once more.  
"He's done for."  
"No coming back from this."  
"Do ya think Sayuri was plagarised too?"  
"Hey, doesn't he still have a pupil or two? Poor kids..."

Goro quickly shuts the chatter out. To think that only people caught in the act get punished. "Proof isn't always enough, you need a confession, hm..?" He mutters, then looking back up to the screen.

"Also, a group calling themselves the Phantom Thieves posted a dubious note at Madarame's exhibit. The police will investigate their relation to this case, but for now, did not identify them as suspects."

"Phantom Thieves? That sounds like a prank."  
"No, it might actually be real! I read about them online before this."  
"Yeah! There's a fan site dedicated to them, and some people have said their requests have been answered!"  
"But...how would they target a famous guy like that?"  
"Well, don't they like, steal hearts? Surely there's something unseen going on behind the scenes!"  
"Steal hearts, what could that mean?"

"Phantom Thieves, huh..?" Goro mutters to himself, then walking off. He pulls out his phone again and walks towards a tree, standing underneath its shade. He taps open the app, and scrolls through his list.  
"Amami, Amano, Fukujimi, Hasama, Honda, Inoue, Ito, Kaneshiro, Kobayashi, M...Madarame..." Goro taps on his name. However, an error pops up.

"This location is no longer available. Deleting location information..."

"H-huh?!"

All he can do is watch as the listing of the location flashes red before vanising off the list completley.  
"N...no...this has got to be a mistake of some sort."  
Goro taps onto 'Register Codewords'  
"Madarame Ichiryusai!"  
"No candidate found."

Goro almost chokes, trying not to shake.  
"They...no, it's not possible is it? I'm not..." He trails off, going to ponder his swirling thoughts and worries as he taps his foot. "They targeted...Madarame. A Celebrity of sorts, with dark secrets. So...chances are they're going to go after someone similar."

He starts to scroll through the list of 'locations'. Everyone on this list are linked to Shido in some way; and like Shido himself they too, are horribly rotten on the inside.  
"Who is the most famous name of these guys? Someone with a household name...and I won't have time to ask all of them..." He bites his lip as he scrolls through, up and down the list. "...Hrm. The more I look on this list, there aren't many women with palaces. There's Niijima-san, Tsukimi Kiku and Nomi Yuko. And then there's Omori Daichi...the rising idol that Shido is using to get money from delusional teenage girls. He's a bit of an outlier too." He sighs as he shakes his head. "I'll probably check in on him...Tsukimi-san is also quite the despicable actor, what with grooming young boys. That goddamn playboy mansion I can barely look at without having the urge to puke. If those Phantom Thieves get wind of her, she's on their list as well, but...I think I'd rather just kill her myself." He mumbles to himself, then starting to hum, now keeping the self-commentary inside his head.

...

After a few minutes, he makes sure he has all his posessions on his person before leaving the area under the tree, going into one of the darker alleys where the shadows of the building cover him completley. "Let's start with a visit to Omori-kun's shrine. See if his shadow has seen these thieves..."  
Tapping the screen, Goro sees the world distort around him. He goes to close his eyes as he shoves his phone into his pocket. When he opens them, he's standing in front of a glossy shrine, with golden lights straight from the heavens to bless its very ground. Cognitions of teenage girls litter the shrine, most of them screaming and tossing their money into donation and prayer boxes. Goro himself is in his blue and black attire, mask on.  
"Right then, where is this piece of shit?" Goro mutters. However, it seems the cognitions heard him. All of them. The girls stop screaming and dart their head towards Goro's direction, their eyes now bloodthirsty.  
"YOU DARE INSULT DAI-CHAN? KILL YOURSELF YOU HIDEOUS HATER!"  
The girls quickly start to charge towards Goro, whereas Goro just rolls his eyes. "This is why I hate having fans..." he mumbles. Putting his hand to his face, he summons Loki. "Knock them downnn..." He commands with a grated voice. Loki spins his blade before sending a shockwave through the air, which either knocks down or slices the cognitions in half, turning them to dust. More will replace them later.  
But as the cognitions are representative of a fanbase, the ailve ones start screaming in terror at the sight.

Before any more can charge him, the clouds part and a staircase of light forms. The girls start screaming differently, hitting exicted high notes, and several fainting. A being starts walking downwards to earth. Dressed in delicate silk scarfs and an over-designed Kimono with blinding colours and gold rims, and a crown styled to look like the sun. His dark hair is long and flowing, unlike the short and combed back hair of his real counterpart. His eyes have the eerie yellow glow of a shadow, and his skin is a shimmering silver-like colour.  
"What's all the fuss? Your idol is here, ready to ease you of your-oh."  
"Your outfit makes me want to puke." Goro comments bluntly, squinting. To help his vision, he returns Loki so his mask returns to his face, tinting his vision red.  
"As if you're any better, Akechi-kun." Omori laughs. "Of course my limelight rival walks in here to cause a mess...what, are you pissed off about that birthday gift prank a few days ago?"  
Goro pauses. How did Omori recognise him through his mask? He racks his brain for an answer. It only click when he focuses on being called a 'limelight rival'. He's met Omori in person before and Omori would easily recognise him because of it. It must be the same on this mental plain. Goro then clenches his teeth with frustration before replying. "Trust me, if I could give this fame away, I would. At the moment, it's rather useful to me, unfortunately..." He scoffs back. "Not like I'm going to stick around here much longer. You're too pathetic to kill anyway. You see yourself as some diety to be worshipped? Of course you do...and it's not like anyone has requested a bounty on you."  
"Pathetic? Funny, that's how I see you." Omori goes to spit at Goro. "Now, are you going to leave?"

Goro pauses, should he even bother?  
...just to be safe. Safe? Yeah.

"These...Phantom Thieves. Heard of them? Seen them anywhere in here?"  
"Phantom...what? These people some kind of band out for my fame?" Omori asks back.  
"I'll take that as a no, then." Goro lightly sighs as he shakes his head. "But, if you do see them...well, your fame and flawless public image will be in grave danger. Goodbye." He then turns his back to Omori and walks towards the exit of the Metaverse. When he's far enough, his clothes fade back to his casual attire, and the rays of the sun shine down on him. He turns to look behind him, where Saitama Super Arena stands. He goes to glare it. "...to see this place as a shrine dedicated to you...eugh."

He walks to a nearby tree to pulls his phone out and open the app up again, looking at the list once more. "...If I want to get back to Shibuya quickly, I should look to see who's in the area...ah, Nomi-san's palace is the hospital. That seems good." He whispers to himself. He taps the location listed. Once again, the world around him starts to warp, he closes his eyes. He digs his feet into the ground to keep stable, as if wind is pushing him about, moving him through spacetime. When he feels the rush come to a sudden end, he's at the Palace, and in his striped attire once again. He puts his phone away.

What is meant to be St. Luke's Hospital is a tall, white building with multiple slim windows, most covered by black curtains. A flag points out from the front reading 'Nomi's Organ Auctioners'. A big hammer model sits atop the building. Suddenly, the hammer lifts up and slams down, but it just makes a sound, no damage to the building whatsoever.  
Unfazed, Goro walks through the wooden swing doors that are overly large.  
The main hall of the palace is completley lit, with cognitions of humans abound, both walking and running about. The ones running head towards rooms on the floor or the stairs. Each room has a big plauge above their door. He sees body parts like Kidneys, Skin, Bone Marrow and the Pancreas.  
Ignoring those rooms, he instead heads up the stairs. He has no buisness on the lower floors as it's unlikely to be where the ruler is.

The stairs go up then curve to the left and right, where there is a near identical room. However, two shadows - one dressed as a nurse and the other in a formal suit with a hammer in hand - stop Goro, staring at him through their masks, covering most of their dead, hollow eyes.  
"What buisness do you have here?" The formal one asks in a echoy, deep voice.  
Goro rolls his eyes. "Do I seriously need a reason? Ugh, I was hoping to avoid this."

Leaving no room for negotiation, Goro pulls out his blade to slice the shadows in half. Their outer forms proceed to fizzle away and melt into the ground. Beings made to resemble a young goddess with a Dragon atop her head while dressed in a regal robe with big and wavy ribbons, and a bipedal if not very humanoid and athletic-looking elephant with blue skin, claws and shoulder armour.

Goro goes to strike first, slicing then digging the blade into the female shadow, to which she cries out in pain.  
"Gr...should have finished you off." Goro mutters as he jumps back.  
Going to recoil. "Take this!" The filtered-like voice of the female shadow calls. She spins before thrusing her arm forward, launching several mirages of needles at Goro.  
"S...sleepy..."  
Goro falls asleep standing up, only to be awaken moments later by a powerful punch to the gut by the Elephant man.  
He growls at them. "Alright, you asked for it! Lokiiiii!" Goro clutches his face as his mask bursts into blue flames. Loki appears behind him. "Show them your strength!" Loki launches a concentrated physical blast at the Elephant man before Goro pulls his hand away from his face.  
The shadow yells and seems to be in pain, hunching over. This doesn't last long, however. The female shadow blows a kiss to cast a healing spell on the Elephant shadow. Goro growls yet again, and focuses on said shadow. The shadow wobbles about before pointing at Goro, Goro looks up to see some dark energy. He steps to the side to avoid the quick downward blast of magic. "Pathetic." He scoffs. "Now, to deal with you." His sights turn back to the female shadow. Summoning Loki again, launching a magical attack this time. "DESTROY THEM!" he commands. Loki throws a straw doll over the shadow before stabbing needles into it. The shadow cries in pain before turning to dust, and Loki is once again withdrawn.  
"One more to deal with..." He mutters, rolling his shoulders. The next attack that comes at him a cough of breath that smells foul. Goro grunts, coughing after breathing some of it in. He proceeds to swat the air away before charging forth again. His gaze sharpens as he drives his blade into the shadow, slashing at it before jumping back and pulling out his pistol, shooting the shadow. The shadow falls over, leaving it wide open.  
"TIME TO GO ALL OUT!" Goro cackles. He puts the gun away and pulls his sword out again. He madly slashes at the shadow before driving his sword clean through it with a wide swing. Upon putting his sword away, the shadow bursts into dust, fading away.

Goro takes a deep breath to calm down. "...I shouldn't get carried away. I don't want to alert other shadows. I'm not here to kill her." He chastises himself, walking through the second floor.

The second floor seems to be more in-demand organs, such as the Liver, Lungs and Intestines. The hall is less busy on this floor, meaning more people in the bidding rooms. Instead of heading one floor up, Goro takes a quick detour into one of the rooms, that of the lungs.  
Opening the door up and entering the room, it's packed with cognitions of humans, with a shadow on the stage in front of a plain white wall, with a projection being cast to show an image of lungs and a portrait photo of what looks to be a 40yo male. The exterior of the Shadow on stage looks near exactly like the masculine one he just fought.  
"Next is Shinji Nakohara's lungs! Starting the bid at 900,000 yen!"  
The cognitions scramble to raise their hands and paddles, yelling atop each other. The price accopanying the image projection rapidly rises thousands a second.  
"...life is given only to the highest bidder...so you only think the wealthy, or those not afraid to become homeless are worth saving..." Goro mutters under his breath, clenching his teeth as he turns to leave the room.

He walks up the next and seemingly last flight of stairs, turning to follow the curve. The last floor surprisingly has no one on it. The doors to the heart auctions are closed shut and roped off.  
"Hmph. Something must be hiding here, so where is-"  
The doors suddenly slam open, a Woman wearing a crimson red suit and matching heels, with pockets filled to the brim with yen notes, hair tied neatly into a bun with a diamond and pearl hairtie keeping it in place, and platnium-encrusted glasses walks out. The doors close right after she steps forward far enough. She stands behind the ropes, as if she herself is off-limits. She folds her arms as she looks at Goro with her glowing gaze.  
"Akechi-kun, Shido's little attack dog..."  
"Nomi-San." Goro scoffs in response.

There's some awkward silence. Neither follow up until Goro coughs to clear his throat.  
"Let me be straightforward with you. Phantom Thieves, does that ring a bell at all? Have you seen anyone? Anything?"  
"Nope." Yuko replies. Then she grins. "Heh, for a second there, I thought you were here to get rid of me, but just for a second."  
"...I think we both know Shido can't find better than you." Goro replies.  
To this, Yuko's grin widens. "Of course he can't. He'd have liver problems if it wasn't for me. And I aided him with understanding this world..."  
Goro rolls his eyes. "Well, you'll be kicked off your throne if those Phantom thieves target you."  
Yuko only laughs to that comment. "You act like I don't have some control over this place. This door will be locked to all who are not in the market for hearts. Unless one of them suddenly has heart failure, they're not getting in."  
  
Goro looks the door, then back at Yuko. "Fine, whatever. If you're so confident I'll just leave you to it." He responds in an overly nice yet sarcastic tone. He turns around to exit, walking down the flights of stairs, through the halls and pushing Cognitions away on the way down and out. He pushes the doors open to exit the building, walking away from the Auction house. the world eventually fades back to normal, and he's on a footpath, merged into the crowd. No one seems to notice or care that Goro just appeared. He continues walking, not going to glance back at the hospital.

He pulls out his phone again before turning into the next back-alley he finds. He scrolls through the list of people. "...Come on, think Goro. Madarame was responsible for plagarism and abuse. What's similar to that?" He asks himself, walking behind a large trash bin. "...wait, Shinoda-san, one of the higher-ups at Ueno Zoo. Publically endorses Shido in exchange for revenue to pay off..." Goro trails into his thoughts. After thinking for a minute, he nods to himself before tapping on the entry of 'Shinoda Katashi' to get transported once more.  
"Urgh....this rapid travel is starting to take a toll on me..." He grunts, his eyelids squeezing slightly. When the world stops morphing about, Goro rubs the side of his head and opens his eyes slowly, sliding his phone into his pocket again.

Searchlights dart their rays side to side slowly across the building and sky. A red carpet is rolled out and roped off in crimson and gold. Instead of any sign saying it's a Zoo, there are large letters engraved into the wall saying 'Shindoa Produuctions'. Goro goes to shield his eyes as the doors to the 'zoo' open. Keeping his hand in front of his face, he enters the palace.  
At first glance, the Zoo almost looks normal. Cognitions of groups ranging from families to school excursions and couples out on dates, as well as everyone in-between.  
However, when he approaches the Panda attraction, something is very off about the exhibit. Looking around, the sources of light are softboxes you see on photography and movie sets. A lot of the plantation also looks fake as well.

_"Action!"_

Goro looks around, no one else seems to have heard the seemingly disembodied voice. Nothing happens at first. He watches closely, eyes darting around between each cranny he can find. He shuffles about between the crowd for different angles, and that's where he finds it. A metal rod comes out of a small slot in the wall that the Panda obscures when you look directly at it from the front. After a few prods, the rod retracts back into wall. The poking clearly caused the panda to flop over onto its back. To the scene, the crowd goes "Awwwww!" which leaves Goro slightly disgusted.

He turns to leave the Panda exhibit. Looking ahead, he sees the Elephant exhibit. He runs over to it to see what the people behind the scenes will do now.  
The Elephant upfront is minding its own buisness, eating some food laid out in front of it. Goro starts looking for any holes or rods again. This time he gets something more extreme...a rod comes out, but it's electrified. Just a small poke and it causes the Elephant to Trumpet in pain.  
However, the cognitions don't notice the harm, they cheer and giggle at the sound.  
  
Goro darts off again, heading in the directon of the Tigers.  
"Where the hell do I find this goddamn palace ruler?" He asks himself outloud, darting his head side to side.  
He eventually comes upon the Tiger exhibit. Strangely, there is now crowd. It's just him. Spotlights turn on to reveal the star Tiger, laying down on a rock, flicking its tail occasionally.  
Then, another spotlight turns on, aimed at the very back of the exhibit. Footsteps comming from thick boots can be heard. When the person wearing these boots emerges to stand behind the tiger...  
"Shinoda Kyoshin." Goro growls at the man.  
Looking at Shinoda's Shadow, he's dressed like a stereotypical movie director with poofy pants, thick boots that stop below the knee, a shiny sleeveless sweater with a white undershirt, a shining red tie and a hat that resembles a beret with a brim. He also holds a megaphone and a set of keys on a thick, brown belt. "Welcome to the greatest movie shoot ever! Always nice to meet a fan!" Shinoda laughs, glowing eyes locked onto Goro's through his mask.  
"...considering this fantasy of yours, you're a prime target for these upcoming Phantom Thieves." Goro comments, getting straight to the point, folding his arms.  
"Phantom what? You think they wanna wreck up this maticulously crafted show?" Shinoda asks, keeping a dirty grin as he speaks.  
"If them going after Madarame is any indication, you might very well be up next." Goro warns, putting on a soft yet sarcastic-sounding tone.  
"Are you one of them, sent as a warning?" Shinoda asks.

Goro pauses, almost forgetting he hasn't met Shinoda in person unlike the last two. He shakes his head to get his thoughts straight and to answer the shadow.  
"...no. Just a man in a mask here to tell you to keep your secrets locked up tight, or else you'll be locked up tight." Goro spits, then turning around to leave.  
Shinoda goes to reply, but it's drowned out due to distance and sounds of the visitors and animals.  
As Goro leaves, he passes by the Otters, Eagles and Owls. He stops in front of what is meant to be a now unused eneterance in the real world, but it is instead a roped-off entrance saying 'Staff Only'. He just shakes his head as he continues walking.

Once he walks through the exit and far enough out, the world fades back to normal, sky returning to a clear blue. He looks at the Zoo which sits across the street.  
"...do you actually treat your animals that way, bastard?" Goro asks himself in a whisper. "...gah, I need to get back to Shibuya. Who's got a palace in Shibuya I can check up on?" He mutters, stuffing his hand into his pocket to pull out his phone once more. Once he opens the app, he taps on the search bar. "Shibuya..." he mutters as he types it in.  
A few results come up, but the one at the top is Junya Kaneshiro.  
"...oh yeah, this is that money-laundering drug guy. Has to be full of himself to see an entire city as a bank for himself." Goro huffs. He observes his surroundings before stepping back against a wall. "Right...let's go in."

One more tap on the phone, and he sinks into the wall. Sliding his phone into the pocket as his eyes shut, head pounding from the rapid abuse and use of the app within no more than an hour of real time.  
"Urgh...."  
He wobbles, holding the side of his head as he blinks. He stands in front of a door to a big bank. Money flies everywhere, likely coming from the trees that swapped out their leaves for bills. He turns around to see a dull Shibuya full of money that flies in the wind. Seeing on the top of the buildings, he rembers that the bank is flying and turns back around to march towards the enterance. "This bastard better be somewhere nearby I swear..." He groans as he pushes the enterance doors wide open, walking through.  
The place looked normal, outside of the ATM Machines with human limbs sitting on the benches. With no line to talk to the employees behind the counter, Goro walks right up to one of the 'windows'.  
"I'm here to check up with Kaneshiro. It's on behalf of Shido Masayoshi." He quickly makes an excuse.  
The shadow - dressed as a mix of a guard and a formal staff member - flinches slightly. "O-of course, r-right this way."

Was the sudden meeting seemingly causing some stress, or was it the mention of Shido? Goro begins to ponder on which one it could be as the shadow leads him through to the back of the Bank, walking into a hallway that connects into several meeting rooms.  
"Right this way...." The shadow says, stopping in front of one of the doors.  
Goro is silent as he walks in.

The room is akin to a large meeting room. A big square desk in the middle of the room, and chairs all around, with a large TV on the wall parallel to the door. Goro goes to sit in the closest chair to him, sighing slightly as he finally gets a break from standing and running. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths.  
"...when is he coming in?" He asks himself in a whisper.  
Then the TV loudly turns on, Goro reluctantly opening his eyes.  
On the screen is Kaneshiro's shadow. He's in a fancy white-ish suit, long black hair and has purple skin, and of course the yellow eyes.  
"...um...that moustache you have sorta makes you look like-"  
"So, is Shido after me? Was what I gave him not enough?" Kaneshiro cuts him off, trying to hide the panic in his tone.  
Goro pauses, his thought process starting to strain. "...N-no. That's not it. It's...ah...next time you need to pay him faster. After all, a week before the deadline is the new deadline, kind of thing."  
"R-right, of course. Is that everything?"  
"...did you see the Phantom Thieves on the news?"  
"Phantom Thieves...I don't recall. They better not be after my-uh, OUR money!" Kaneshiro starts to sweat, likely not wanting to screw anything up. "Wait...You are with Shido, right?"  
Goro nods. "...his very hitman. One mess up from you, and you're on the chopping block. Don't want to end up like Sasaki-san, now would you?" He then laughs, watching the fear in Kaneshiro's eyes grow.  
"No, o-of course not. I'll just ramp up the debts..."  
"Wonderful. That is all."

The TV then turns off.  
Goro stays seated for just a little longer before groaning as he stands up and pushes the chair back. He begsins to walk back the way he came, the shadows watching him in silence. No one tries to stop him or block his way out. When he exits the bank and back out into the yard, he heads to the gates.  
"Oh yeah, It's in the sky...eh."

Goro with a headache inbound, decides the best way to get back to the real world is to jump off and fall towards the ground. So he does just that.  
As he falls, he closes his eyes so his eyes don't get tired. Instead of splatting on the ground, his blow is cushioned. Once completley still, his eyes peels open.  
"An allyway...wait." He goes to sit up, almost going to gag when he sees he's in a large waste bin full of trash bags, one that was burst open and seems to have been full of uneaten fruit and soup. Before he can crawl out of his unforunate landing, his phone starts ringing. He's quick to pull the phone out of his pocket answer it.

"Hello? Who is this?"  
"Ah, Akechi-Kun. Did you see my texts?"  
"O-oh! Yoshizawa-san! I uh...I have not. Long story short, I um...had to find somewhere to hide, and now I'm in a trash bin. So I can't so any sudden-"  
"That's enough information, Akechi-kun. And I don't want anything from you now. First question, you did see the news broadcast regarding Madarame?"  
"Yeaaaa...what has this got to do with me?"  
"Well, you did hear the part about the Phantom Thieves, right?"  
"I did..."  
"Well, the Police did say that they'd look into their connection to this Madarame case. I assume you are going to be involved?"  
"I assume the same, sir."  
"Well then...will you have enough information on them in the next coming days? If you do, I have a spot open for a segment on the 10th."  
"Ah, sounds great. Hold it for me, I'll gather information on them. Shall I call you when everything is ready on my end?"  
"Great. I'll be waiting for your call."

The call ends, letting Goro slide his phone back into his pocket. With both hands free, he climbs out of the bin and dusts himself off to the best of his abilities. "Phantom Thieves...I won't let you get in the way of my plans."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The two Shadows fought in the second Palace are Otohime and Vetala. They've appeared in prior SMT games and some Persona games prior to 5.


	4. Is it you?

It's been a few days. After aiding the police in regards to the Phantom thieves, Goro accepted to be interviewed on the 10th of June, wanting to get as many people on his side as early on as possible. As he walks to his meeting, he hears voices in the distance ahead.

_Shopping later..."_   
_"Oh..! I wanna go to that huge Pancake-looking place..!"_   
_"...They've got an amusement park."_

The closer he gets, the clearer their voices are, and the more he hears.

_"Let's just go to dome town! I'm really feelin' it now!"_   
_"Me too! My stomach's ready for rollercoasters!"_   
_"Uh...I think I'll pass on the puke rides."_

Listening to this group, there's a boy, a girl, and either a boy that hasn't had his voice break year or a girl with a slightly deeper tone. His suspicions are confirmed about the group as he goes to walk past the hallway they're in, with the last member confirmed to be male. Upon glancing at them, one of the two boys looks...eerily familiar...He turns around and stops walking to talk to them.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice your uniforms. Are you students of Shujin Academy?"  
The group of three turn to look at Goro, the blond boy speaking first. "Yeah, whaddaya want?"

Goro walks a bit closer before replying.  
"I happened to be passing by by, so it seemed polite to greet you. We'll be filming together, after all...ah, were are my manners? My name is Goro Akechi." He says...watching the one with the dark hair and glasses.  
Instead, the blonde girl replies first. "Akechi...?"  
"Filming? What, you a celebrity?" The blond boy adds.  
Goro tries to softly laugh it off. "Only to the extent of appearing on TV a couple of times."

There's seconds of awkward silence before the girl goes to speak. "Oh..!"

Before she can continue, Goro feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out to look at the screen before sliding it back in. "My apologies, I truly was just passing by. I must be going. There's a briefing for tomorrow's recording that I have to attend. So you're going to go have cake now? I missed lunched today, so I'm quite hungry myself..." He trails off into a small laugh.  
However, the three give him odd looks.  
"Huh? Cake? What're you talkin' about?" The blond boy asks.  
Goro quickly recoils, looking a bit shocked. "Oh, am I mistaken? I thought I heard something about delicious pancakes...no matter. Well, see you tomorrow!"

Goro hurries away from the three students, his brain going wild, asking to himself if he messed that entire exchange up.  
'Am I that hungry that I'm only hearing about food? What if someone said bake and I heard it as cake? Agh, that's not helping, that's food related too! The only other sound I can hear is my stomach. God, I should have packed myself some lunch. Will I start to eat my tie? Is there a vending machine near the room? Wait, you're not allowed to bring food in. Water is fine, right? But I'm hungry, not thirsty. God, I cannot think straight...I hope they don't say anything about me. I need to keep a smart, flawless reputation...'  
Before he can think about his inner thoughts to hard, he enters into the room. "Sorry, I hope I'm not late..."

* * *

Getting to the studio bright and early the next morning was always a struggle no matter how many times Goro had done it. "I wish I was naturally a morning person..." He mumbles to himself as he walks through the halls of the station.  
"Akechi-San, you'll be on in half an hour, let's spruce you up for the cameras!"

Taken into a room to sit in front of a mirror, Goro stares at his reflection. His face is still as it's powdered with light foundation. He talks to himself within his thoughts.  
'...Is he here again today? That is, if the Shujin students do indeed have a two-day field trip here.' He pauses, a scoff of air puffing out of his nose. '...but, why do I care about him so much? He forgot about me, that much is obvious. Not like I'll get time to talk to him either...'  
Goro closes his eyes and digs his nails into his thigh to chastise himself.  
"You're done!"

Goro snaps his eyes open and back to reality. "Ah, thank you..once I get some water I should be ready to face the cameras." He lifts himself out of the chair and walks out of the room and approaches a vending machine full of drinks. He pulls out his wallet and takes some yen out to put it in the machine. He enters in the numbers on the keypad to get a bottle of water, and it thuds its way down the machine. He retrives the bottle and twists the cap to take a quick chug. After, he takes a deep breath and looks around for a clock.  
"..fifteen minutes..." He mumbles upon his eyes locating a digital wall clock high up near a window.  
To waste time, he paces about in the small space, occasionally looing to a plant in the corner. With around 5 minutes until he's due to be called on, Goro pulls out his phone and opens up the app, mindlessly scrolling through the long list of names. He sees red and white bars of names.  
"...I wonder...do they only seek out the rulers of those palaces, or are they aware of-"  
"Akechi, you're on in one minute, please report to the set!"  
Goro closes the app and puts his phone to sleep before sliding it into his pocket. "Coming!"

"Akechi-san is coming on!"  
That's when the teenage girls in the audience start to sque"al with excitement.  
Goro walks toward the two hosts, staring at them for a second before seating himself down on the couch behind him.  
  
"Cutting back from commerical!"  
The squeals and murmurs die down.  
"Seven, six, five seconds till start, four, three..."  
  
Some light background music starts up to signify that they're live once more. The female host is quick to start talking, following the prompt on the small screen below the camera.  
"And now, onto the hottest 'meet-and-greet' segment of our show... After his last appearance was so well-recieved, we decided to bring back this fine gentleman today. It's the High school detective, Goro Akechi!"  
As girls cheer, Goro puts on a plastic, gleeful smile as he turns from the camera to the hosts. "Hello there." He nods his head gently.  
"Thank you for taking the time to join us today, Akechi-kun. Your popularity is stunning." Barks the male host.  
Without missing a beat, Goro replies within seconds, although going to scratch his chin to keep himself relatively calm. "Even I've found it to be quite a surprise. It is a bit embarassing though..." He stifles a strained, tired laugh at the end as he lets out a breath of air.  
"Moving along, we've been told there's a case on your mind right now. Care to share, detective?" The woman takes the question.  
Goro takes a quick breath in before answering. "Ah yes, that would be the scandal involving the master artist Madarame." He gestures his left hand forward as he talks.  
"There it is! All of this Phantom Thief excitement has caught your attention too, Akechi-kun! Allow me to be blunt for just a second. What do you think of these justice-oriented Phantom Thieves?" The male host spews out rather quickly, almost boucing in his seat a little bit.

Goro has no room to pause. He crunches his face into a faker smile, tight around the edges as so his true feelings on the matter don't leak out.  
"If they truly are heroes of justice, I sincerely hope they exist."  
"Oooh! So you don't deny the possibilty that they're real?" The male host quickly comments, withholding some physical energy as he tightens the grip on his own knee.  
"I may not seem like it, but sometimes I wish Santa Claus acually existed. Although if he did, I'd have to arrest him for breaking an entering." Goro comments in reponse, keeping the fake smile on tight. The laughter he causes gives him a few seconds of relief to think. He never really got the privilege to think Aanta was real, not even for a second. Harsh reality has always been in his life, never sweet lies. Before he can feel his expression crack, he rests his face. Back to the Phantom Thieves.  
"But hypothetically speaking, if these Phantom Thieves are real...I believe they should be tried in the court of law." His expression turns slightly sturn. He tilts his head down as he grabs his chin.  
"That's quite the statement. Are they committing crimes? Some people say that the Thieves are actually helping their victims abandon their evil ways." The Male host's glee has become that of cautious worry.  
"What the artist Madarame did truly was an unforgivable crime. However, they're taking the law into their own hands by judging him. It's far from justice. More importantly, you should never forcefully change a person's heart." Goro's voice becomes more stern and nearing anger, he keeps staring at the floor. The crowd starts to murmur.  
"You have a point. These people are calling themselves the Phantom Thieves, after all. Amazing as always, Akechi-Kun! I could listen to you for days! You have the most radiant charisma!" The male host switches back to a more lighthearted tone, which gets the crowd to murmur more.  
Goro goes to look back up, relaxing his posture a bit and uncrossing his legs. He looks to the hosts before replying. "I have to say though, I would be embarassed if it turns out these Phantom thieves didn't exist. If that were the case, I'd summarise it into a report as a school project." The fake smile comes back, his softer tone with it.

"Now then, let's try asking some students the same age as Akechi-kun about the Phantom Thieves! First, please press your button now if you think the Phantom Thieves exist." The female host pipes up after a long silence, however, it's clear she's going off a script, suggesting she was the lesser prepared of the two hosts.  
There's some beeping-like noise that counts the results on a screen off to the side of the stage, and makes an updeat 'dun!' sound when the results are tallied up.  
"About 30% or so? What are your thoughts, Akechi-kun?" The male host takes over again, leaning in a little bit.  
"I'm a bit surprised. That was higher than I was expecting." Goro opens his facial features a bit more to give off the impression that his emtion does match his words. "I'd love to hear some more detailed opinions on the Phantom Thieves' actions." He quickly relaxes his expression.  
The female host quickly gets up and grabs her mic, walking down the ailse of students. Goro's eyes follow her.  
"Alright, let's try asking this student here. Hypothetically speaking, what are your thoughts on the Phantom Thieves, if they were real?"

Goro stares at the student. It's the eerily familiar one from yesterday. The sudent stares at the hostess as he replies.  
"Well...as I see it, they're doing more than the police. In the case of Madarame, isn't plagarism and abuse against not just common, decent morals, but the law to start with?" He comments, pushing his glasses up to make them reflect the lighting and give off a small flare.  
The crowd mumbles under an 'ooooohhhhh'. However, Goro was distracted by the student's voice...clearly cracked now, but there's no mistake, it's Kurusu-kun from all those years ago. The hair and glasses haven't even changed very much.  
"This completley goes against the opinion you had about them being tried by law, Akechi-kun." The other host comments.  
"Yes..it does." Goro mumbles. Thinking back to it, the trial case was merely just his personal thoughts. Anything to stop them in their tracks, they can't get in the way of his plan. "You provided a rather thought-out answer, so...let me ask one more question to you. Say, if someone close to you, perhaps your friend sitting next to you, had a change of heart, would you think the Phantom Thieves did it?"  
Kurusu is clearly surprised by the question. His head tilts down slightly, convenient lighting reflecting off his lenses once more to hide his eyes. A light gasp escapes his lips, and his answer is delayed. "Well, I'd be concerned, since it would mean that the friend I knew was all a lie, right? Madarame confessed to how awful of a person he was. If my friend did that, I feel like I wouldn't have known the real them to start with."  
Goro almost physically winces from that response, like a bullet was shot right into the mask he wears for the public, and cracking it for all to see. "So...I take it as you think it would have been a justified change. If I'm wrong, I don't mind being corrected later." He gestures his hand forward once more, flapping it around a bit. "Even so, I find there to be a larger issue at hand, both ignoring and connected to the morality of it all."  
"Hm? What do you mean?" The host asks as the co-host walks back to the main set to sit back down.  
"It's how they go about changing people's hearts." Goro softly groans as he goes to rub his chin with his thumb, kicking one leg over the other. "We have no idea what their methods are. And for all we know, they could use it for more than just generating confessions. And...it could be entirely possible they're setting up the scandals themselves."  
Whispers from the crowd start to rise in volume.  
"You know what, you could very well be right!" The host comments cautiously.  
"O-oh, don't misunderstand. All of what I'm saying is hypothetical. There's currently no way to prove any sort of method of theirs, let alone if they even exist, after all. But, part of me is saying that they're very real, as the display at the exhibition was too thought out to be a prank. I believe that these thieves are dangerous, and they are a potential threat to our everyday lives. That's why I'll admit to helping the police directly on this case, to determine if these Phantom Thieves really are suspects worth looking into."  
Gasps, followed by energetic cheers. As expected of him and his image...

* * *

As Goro gets to leave the set due to the show being over at last, he watches from afar as Kurusu converses with his friends he saw yesterday. They both depart seperately, with the scruffier friend speedwalking off first. With Kurusu alone, Goro makes his move.  
"Ah, it's you."

He walks till he's about a meter away from Kurusu. "I'm glad you haven't left yet, I wanted to talk to you."  
"...is it about my answers?" Kurusu asks, not missing a beat as he shuffles his body to casually flop to the side.  
"Well, partially. I do want to ask if my assumption in regards to your second answer was correct." Goro explains as he jestures his hand forward.  
"Uh...I suppose you weren't wrong." Kurusu taps and wrings the tip of his shoe into the ground as he replies. "I mean, the first case of the Phantom Thieves was at my school. Both of their victims were hiding crimes from just about everyone that could actually report them for good reason." He goes to shrug.  
Goro nods along, pulling on his gloves. "I'm semi-aware about that case. I wasn't given any information on it, though. But it's considered solved, so there's no point for me to touch it." He comments. "Now, before I have to walk off, I have one more question for you..."  
"...hm? What is it?"

"...is it actually you, Kurusu-kun?"


End file.
